--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Savannah Dillon was not normally someone who let her emotions get the better of her. For the most part, she was very cool, calm and collected and could handle even the most depressing of news without even shedding a single tear. But when she came face-to-face with Griffin and Harper's future son, Nick, that was her breaking point. She wanted to scream and yell and hug the kid to death but instead something happened that just made her legs turn to jelly and she fainted right then and there, much to everyone's surprise.
And when she finally came to almost fifteen minutes later, she had a major head rush from the shock. "Wait, so you're really Griffin and Harper's kid in the future?" she asked Nick curiously as she sat up in Griffin's bed and rubbed her forehead. "Yes." said Nick hurriedly as he continued to search Griffin's room for something. "Which makes him our nephew. Dang, Griffin and Harper!!! Who knew you guys made such good-looking babies together!?" remarked Wyatt excitedly, which made Griffin, Harper and Nick all extremely uncomfortable. "Nice going, dummy!" exclaimed Zoey angrily under her breath.
"But wait, there's one thing I still don't understand. Why did you come back here and what are doing rummaging through Griffin's stuff?" asked Harper nervously as she watched her future son(no matter how uncomfortable it made her to think about you know what)dig through Griffin's closet until he pulled out a wrinkled up piece of paper. "Aha!!! Found it." he said as he smoothed out the paper and set it on Griffin's desk. Wyatt, Zoey, Harper and Savannah all came over to where Nick was and looked over his shoulder to read what the paper said.
"Things to do in the past:
Stop Mom and Dad from breaking the radio.
Investigate the springs.
Don't let Aunt Zoey and Uncle Wyatt go to 2024. " read Harper aloud curiously, eyeing Nick suspiciously. "Why can't Wyatt and Zoey go to 2024?" asked Savannah as she felt a small blush creep up on her cheeks. "That's not important!!! What is important, however, is that I need Mom, Dad and Savannah to come back to 1960 with me. Like, right now!!!" said Nick urgently as he grabbed the list off Griffin's desk and shoved it in his pants pocket. "Wait, what? 1960? Why?!" asked Wyatt in disbelief. "Yeah, what's even in 1960, anyway?" asked Zoey, giving Nick a patented death stare. Nick didn't say anything and instead starting sweating nervously and very profusely. "Nicholas Campbell, as your future father, I order you to tell us what's in 1960 right now!!!!" demanded Griffin angrily, clearly not having any of his son's bullshit.
After a few minutes, Nick finally caved. "You want the long version or the short version?" he asked bluntly as he nervously glanced between the five teens currently staring him down. "The short version. In case you didn't notice, we're kinda in the middle of something here." snapped Wyatt impatiently. "Well, to put it nicely, hopefully the key to getting us out of this mess and putting the springs back to normal." said Nick, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. Griffin sighed. "As long as we're home before dinner, I'm in. Besides, I want to figure out what's causing this whole mess just as much as you guys do." he said calmly. "Well, if we're gonna do this, now's the time. Wyatt, Zoey, you guys know what to do." said Harper as she folded her arms over her chest.
The twins just nodded wordlessly and started to head downstairs by themselves to make sure the coast was clear. Once the six of them were downstairs and safe in the bunker, Griffin quickly set the dials on the radio while Harper, Savannah, Wyatt and Zoey relentlessly questioned Nick about what the future was gonna be like. "Hey!!! If you guys are done probing my son, we've all got jobs to do. Now, come on." said Griffin as he finished setting the dials on the radio before the lights started to flick rapidly and the radio started glitching and flipping to random dates again.
"Uh, Nick? Mind telling me what's going on here?!" asked Savannah worriedly as she suddenly fell to the floor because of how much the bunker was shaking. "N-N-N-No idea, Savannah. Th-this has been happening lately whenever I time travel. And I have a hunch that this is, somehow, connected to whatever's been happening with the springs!!!!" he yelled back as he held onto the shelves to help balance himself. "Wh-what makes you so sure of that?!" yelled Zoey as she and Wyatt quickly helped Savannah back up to her feet. "Check out the crystal and you'll have your answer!!!" he replied as his teeth started to chatter. Quickly shuffling over to the table, they turned the radio around and were met with a very unpleasant sight. Black ooze was dripping out of the cracks in the crystal, which was making all the wiring inside the radio go on the fritz. "Th-that's n-n-n-not normal." said Wyatt as he watched a blue spark of energy fly out of the crystal and just barely missed hitting Harper. Finally, after a few more minutes of violent shaking and rattling, everything finally stopped and the six kids were left scratching their heads and wondering what the heck it was that they just witnessed.
"Okay, that was.....something else." said Wyatt breathlessly as he suddenly collapsed onto the bunker floor. Griffin and Harper then glanced at each other nervously and immediately realized that they better take off for 1960 before something even worse happened. "You're telling me." said Zoey, dumbstruck as she helped him back up. "Nick, Savannah, come on. We gotta go." called Harper as she started to head for the hatch. "Wyatt, Zoey, make sure you guys hold down the fort. We'll be back as soon as we can." said Griffin before he followed Nick and Savannah towards the hatch. After a few minutes, Wyatt and Zoey decided to head back upstairs. "Hey, where's Topher?" asked Zoey curiously as they walked through the tunnel. "No idea. I bet he would've loved to meet his future nephew, though." said Wyatt in between deep breaths as he shook his head and followed Zoey out of the tunnel and back upstairs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *A few minutes earlier*
Meanwhile, Topher was upstairs trying to find Wyatt and Zoey since he hadn't seen them since the party had started. Suddenly, he looked out the window at the top of the stairs and saw Mrs. Barker start to run off for the springs. "Back for more, are you, Mrs. Barker? Well, you're not gonna get away from me this time!!!" he exclaimed to no one in particular and quickly raced down the stairs and outside towards the springs to catch up to Mrs. Barker and hopefully find out what the old woman wanted. However, when he got there, he was met with a surprising sight:Ben and Sarah were actually at the springs. "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. C, wh-what're you doing here?" he stammered nervously as he glanced across the springs and saw Mrs. Barker arrive and kneel down and start to look for the something in the springs.
"Um, well, we just wanted to come out here and enjoy the fresh air since we finally had a moment to ourselves." answered Ben calmly, completely oblivious to Topher's nervousness and worry. "While that's nice, don't you guys need to get back inside to the party?" he asked, his heart starting to hammer in his chest at about 1000 miles per hour. "Not really, no. The party is kinda starting to die down anyway, so we decided now would be the best time to come out here." said Sarah nonchalantly before she looked around and her smile turned into a small frown. "Hey, have you seen Wyatt and Zoey anywhere? I haven't seen them in almost thirty-five minutes and I'm starting to get a little worried."
Topher stole a quick glance at Mrs. Barker before he looked Sarah directly in the eye and swallowed nervously. "Well, I, um---" However, before he could continue, a sharp jolt noise was heard and Ben and Sarah turned around and came face-to-face with Mrs. Barker lying on the ground and writhing in pain. "Oh my god." said Sarah breathlessly as she pulled her phone out. Ben quickly ran over to the other side of the springs and kneeled down to make sure Mrs. Barker still had a pulse. "She has a pulse, but it's very faint. Sarah, call 911 and Shady Acres and let 'em know that Mrs. Barker is here. Topher, I need you to run back to The Tremont and make sure no one comes here while we're out here. Can you do that?" he asked seriously, as he picked up Mrs. Barker's limp form in his arms.
Topher glanced at Mrs. Barker and sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I-I can do that. And if I see Wyatt and Zoey, I'll send 'em your way." he said finally before he took off running for The Tremont. "Ma'am, if you can hear me, I promise you it's gonna be okay." Ben said softly as he grazed some of Mrs. Barker's hair. "An ambulance is on their way and they're gonna take you to the hospital. You're gonna be okay." he said, almost on the verge of the tears before he saw Mrs. Barker raise one of her hands towards the sky. "No. No. He's gone. He's gone. And it's all my fault. I can't save him. I was too late." said Mrs. Barker sadly in a barely audible whisper in between a few loud coughs. "Shh. Shh. Don't talk right now. It's not that good for you." said Ben softly as he gently squeezed her hand to comfort. "And no one can save you either........Ben." she said in a deathly quiet whisper before she closed her eyes and her skin turned pale. "No. No. No. It can't be." said Ben as he gently set her limp figure down on the ground right as first responders from the hospital arrived with a gurney. "You-you're too late. I was too late." he said regretfully as he stood back up and wiped away the tears that were starting to fall down his face.
However, a few minutes later, after the ambulance had left, Ben remembered something that Mrs. Barker had said to him. She knew his name. How was that even possible? He hadn't even really known her all that well, and yet, she addressed him by name. Something wasn't adding up, and he was gonna figure it out. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------As Griffin, Harper, Savannah and Nick climbed out of the hatch, Griffin felt a serious wave of nostalgia hit him as he realized what day in 1960 they arrived in:The day of the big storm. "Oh yeah, this looks familiar." he said sarcastically as he climbed out of the hatch and saw the Camp Tremont banner and the unfinished bunkhouses. "The day of the storm? Why this day, Nick?" asked Harper as she climbed out of the hatch and was almost knocked over backwards by an intense gust of wind. "Nick? Nick? Where are you?!" yelled Griffin as he looked around for his son, but to no avail. "Uh, yeah. I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but, uh, the Harfin love-child is currently running off for the hotel. I suggest we go after him before something really bad happens." said Savannah nervously as she pointed at the size-5 footprints in the muddy ground. "Oi vey. This little mission better be worth it if it means Nick will actually listen to us in the future." muttered Griffin angrily as he, Harper and Savannah started to follow the footprints.
Thankfully, they were able to catch up to Nick right as he went up the porch steps. "Nick, I don't know if we tell you this often in the future, but you really need to learn to not run off when we're in the middle of something important, especially if it's something as important as this!!!" exclaimed Griffin in exasperation as he raised his arms in the air for good measure. "Oh, god. Now, I know how Mom and Dad feel whenever I don't get my chores done." he said as the realization dawned on him. "Okay, fine. But I promise I'll tell you everything once were safe and sound back at the bunker. I mean, do you guys really want to get stranded here for two whole years?" asked Nick sarcastically, hoping to ease some of the tension in the air. However, none of the other three found that joke very amusing, especially Savannah. "Okay, you know what? I'm gonna shut up now before something bad happens. Follow me." said Nick quietly as he took off running for the springs.
After a bit of struggling against the wind, the four kids finally arrived at the springs and much to Griffin, Harper and Savannah's surprise, shock, and mild horror, Nick kneeled down at the edge of the springs and stole a toolbelt that was just lying there on the ground. "Okay, Nick, don't know if we tell you this in the future at all either, but stealing is wrong. Mmkay?" asked Harper expectantly, giving her son another death stare. Nick just chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, I know. But if we want to get this done, I kinda have to---" he began before he was cut off by a lightning bolt hitting a nearby tree. "To be continued. Right now, we gotta get outta here!!!" yelled Nick over the intense wind as he started to run back for The Tremont. "I read you loud and clear, Nick!!! yelled Griffin as he turned on his heel and starting following him, Harper and Savannah close behind.
However, as they continued running, the wind started to get more and more intense to the point where the four of them literally had to squint in order for them to see where they were going. And Griffin was squinting his eyes so much that as they ran back inside the hotel through the veranda door, he wasn't looking where he was going and ran headfirst into someone. "Oh, sorry about that. I guess I just gotta be more careful, huh?" asked Griffin apologetically to whoever he ran into. "Yeah, you really should. What were you kids even doing outside in the first place? A storm is a-brewing." said a calm, familiar voice that Griffin knew from somewhere but was having trouble placing it since he was trying to adjust his eyes. "Oh, good. You guys found my toolbelt. Tell you what, why you don't you and your friends stay here and help me finish closing up before the storm gets here and then, you can wait it out with me. How does that sound?" asked the voice as he put his arm out to help Griffin up. "Uh, yeah. Th-that sounds great. Thank you so much......" said Griffin breathlessly as he finally opened his eyes and the words died in his throat as he finally figured out who it was he ran into and why his voice sounded so familiar. He had very short, buzz-cut black hair, a small goatee that was just starting to come in and he was wearing a dark green jumpsuit with a name on it. A name that he, Harper and Savannah knew all too well.
"........Sam?" he asked in disbelief. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Y'all know what to do............... ;)
Ciao 4 now!!!! <3<3<3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------